The Let's Play Archive

Part 12: Fall 1996, Bear Territory Part 1

Chapter 11: Fall 1996, Bear Territory part 1

We're approaching the halfway point, and Utter Perfection is going as smoothly as we could hope for. Goon's stats are very close to where they need to be. Girls like him. Guys like him. Koalas like him. And coming up, we have one of the highlights of high school life ahead, the class trip. Let's see how this goes!

Goon: Hey, Mikihara-san!
Megumi: Y...yes? What's going on?
Goon: Happy birthday! I got you a present.
Megumi: Th...thank you! May I open it?
Goon: Of course. Do you like it?
Megumi: This is cute... I'll treasure it!
Goon: (She seemed happy enough. Not bad, I guess.)

THAT was the neutral response? Damn, girl.

9/8 (Sunday): Concert Band
9/9-9/14: Class trip!

The traditional class trip in Japanese schools is a pretty big deal. It almost always happens during the second year of middle school and high school, since first year students don't know anything, while third year students are busy preparing for their entrance exams. Elementary school kids get to go on their class trip in 6th (and final) grade.

The kids spend months saving up money for travel expenses, and often schools will ask kids to start paying for the trip months in advance - especially considering the logistics of having to book travel and boarding for entire classes plus their teachers. It's most common for schoolkids to go somewhere accessible by bullet train (as long as it's not TOO close), but elite private schools can often afford to fly their classes out to places like Hawaii, San Francisco, Australia, and so on. Even within Japan, air travel is expensive, so going to places like Okinawa and Hokkaido for the class trip mean that Kirameki High School is pretty rich. That, or Rei just paid for the whole thing out of his monthly allowance.

Culturally, the high school trip is often the first extended time that these teenagers spend away from their parents, which is why teachers in both real life and fiction have to keep such a strict eye on all of them. Teenage hormones + crowded hotel rooms - parental authority = bad.

Goon: We're going on our school trip today!
Goon: Hmm? Wait, where were we going on our trip, again?

Option 1: Kyoto and Nara
Option 2: Okinawa
Option 3: Hokkaido

Since Hokkaido won the poll, we'll be going there for this trip. Conveniently, Hokkaido is the only destination that has a girl's special event associated with it; I'll show it to everyone once, and reload.

Goon: Oh yeah, we're going to Hokkaido. This is gonna rock!

Goon: And just like that, we're in Hokkaido.
Goon: (And the first day of the trip is over.)

Goon: Today's all group activities.
.
.
.
Goon: (The second day of the trip is over. It feels like I spent the entire day on the bus.)

For this time and this time only, we'll be choosing option 1 because it triggers an event.

Yuina: Of course it will.
Yuina: Let us depart without further delay.

Goon: So this is the famous Sapporo Clock Tower...
Yuina: Soon, I will make it my very own alarm clock.
Goon: Looks like we're out of free time, let's head back.
Yuina: That is true, we should head back.
Goon: Would you be okay with spending the next day of free time with me?
Yuina: The day after tomorrow? Very well, I shall grace you with my presence. Especially since it feels like something big is about to happen...
Goon: Something big?
Yuina: It's a secret. Wait for me in the lobby when it is time.

Goon: (And so, day 3 ended.)

Goon: Today's group activity time again.
Goon: (Day 4 is over. Tomorrow is another day of free time.)

Goon: I promised Himoo-san that I'd spend today with her.
Goon: She sure is late, when's she gonna get here?
Yuina: I have come as promised. We should not waste a minute.

Translator's note: The word Yuina uses here is 野望/yabou, which also means "ambition" but is a much more sinister word than Professor Clark's parting words to his students. Clark's saying invokes 大志/taishi, which is the aspiration aspect of ambition, while Yuina's version is more like Nobunaga's Ambition. By changing two words, she completely corrupts the entire meaning of the saying, which is famous across Japan.

Goon: Whoa, a bear!

Option 1: Let's run!
Option 2: Run, I'll hold it off!

Is it a bear? -> oh boy oh boy -> WRESTLE

BEAR BATTLE

The killer brown bear attacked!

After a few rounds, the bear will always attack with Salmon Boomerang, which will always deal critical damage. It also looks hilarious.

Goon: Whew, I won! I hope Himoo-san's okay.
Yuina: You appear to be injured.
Goon: I got away with just some scratches.
Yuina: This only happened because you forced me to flee.
Goon: Huh?
Yuina: I thought that this would be the perfect time to test out my new weapon in the field!
Goon: Oh... uh. Wanna head back?
Yuina: Very well, let us head back.

For most class trips, this is the end of day 5. However, Yuina has a special event if you go sightseeing with her in Hokkaido. Let's see it!

9/13: Extra event!

Goon: Hmm? Himoo-san, what're you doing here?
Yuina: I was looking for you. Gunpei-kun, we are going out to do some field work.
Goon: Huh? Where are we going?
Yuina: At the farm next to this hotel, I found the perfect subject for research.
Goon: (Research again...)

Yuina: So, this is a crop circle. I shall explain this phenomenon scientifically.
Goon: This is the first time I've ever seen one.
Yuina: Do not just stand there. Investigate! Start from the middle.

Goon: Hey, what's that? Could it be a UFO?
Yuina: There is no such thing as an unidentified flying object. I will expose it for what it is!
Goon: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

The alien attacked!

At this point, Yuina pulls out a box that says "top secret" and says
Yuina: Hold it off until I have finished my preparations.

There's no way to beat the alien alone. What we have to do is buy time until Yuina finishes building whatever it is she packed in that box. Sadly, the only way to do that is with hit points, and we don't have nearly enough for this time around, since the alien does 200-ish damage a pop and we can only heal for 37 a turn at our current Stamina level.

What's... what's she building, anyway?

Game: Fudou's party fled.

Yuina: We failed because of your incompetence.
Goon: S...sorry.
Yuina: Ah well. We will win next time for sure.
Goon: (There's... gonna be a next time?)

Goon: (And that's how day 5 ended.)

Anyway, that was a nice diversion. Time to reload and take care of business with Shiori. This loss doesn't mean anything because it didn't have anything to do with Shiori, it just... it just...

It just stings, dammit! I want a rematch! We just needed more time to build up hit points, that's all!

RELOAD COUNT: 30

8/18-9/8 (all of it): Sleep
8/21: New event!

Goon: A phone call? That's rare...
Goon: Yes, this is the Fudou residence.
Yoshio: Hey, it's Yoshio. You free right now?
Goon: Oh. It's just Yoshio. Yeah, I'm free.
Yoshio: Okay, then get your butt over to the amusement park.
Goon: Why the hell do I have to go to the amusement park with a guy like you?
Yoshio: It'll be fine! I'm waiting for you.
(click)
Goon: Geez, he's pushy. I guess I don't have a choice but to go.

Goon: Sigh... I'm here. I guess I should head inside.
Yoshio: Oh hey, you're finally here!
Goon: Yoshio, seriously, what is with you calling me out to--
Goon: Huh? Shiori and Mikihara-san are here too?

Shiori: H...hi, Gunpei-kun.

Megumi: Um, uh... h...hi, Fudou-san.

Yoshio: Now aren't you glad you came? Thank me later.
Yoshio: Okay, now that we're all here, let's go ride the ferris wheel!

The double date event happens randomly in the summer, and Yoshio will invite two random girls to come to the park. For the ferris wheel, the roller coaster, and the haunted house, we can take one of the girls to each of them. For each time we pick a girl, that girl's affection will go up and the other girl will feel hurt. Tripling up on one girl is a great way to build affection without losing any Sunday/holiady actions, but it also brings the other girl dangerously close to bomb territory. It's actually a pretty inconvenient event, and I'm glad it's happening on a run I intend to reload anyway.

Yoshio: Which girl do you want to ride with?

Option 1: I'll take Shiori.
Option 2: I'll take Mikihara-san.

Shiori: Let's ride.
.
.
.
Shiori: That was a nice view, wasn't it?

In another universe, we have already answered that question. Next is the roller coaster.

Yoshio: Which girl do you want to ride with?

Option 1: I'll take Shiori.
Option 2: I'll take Mikihara-san.

We've seen this before too, so let's skip to the next part.

Yoshio: Okay, the haunted house is next.
Yoshio: Who do you want to take inside?

Option 1: I'll take Shiori.
Option 2: I'll take Mikihara-san.

Shiori: I'm a little scared already, but let's get inside.
.
.
.
Shiori: That was a little scary, don't you think?

Yoshio: Are we done already? Well, I guess it's time to head home.
Shiori: Gunpei-kun, today was a lot of fun. Thanks, and bye!
Megumi: Fudou-san... today was... um... nice. Bye...

Yoshio: I think she might like you.
Goon: (What?! Is he talking about Shiori?)
Goon: You... you might be right. Anyway, we should go.

And that ends Diversion Theater. Back to building HP for Hokkaido! Fast-forward to:

9/11 (Class Trip Day 3)

Shiori: Hey, Goon!
Goon: Oh, hey Shiori.

Oh. Great. Because we just powered through three successful dates with Shiori, she's now calling us by our nickname. That would be great, if this were a real run. Dammit, game!

Shiori: Are you about to head out?
Goon: Yeah, I was just about to.
Shiori: Can... I come with you?

Option 1: Yeah, let's go.
Option 2: No.

It hurts my soul to give up progress like this, since it shows that Shiori likes us enough to invite us out ahead of all the other girls... but the alien awaits! Option 2 it is.

Shiori: Oh... Sorry for asking.
Goon: Maybe I was too cold just now.
Goon: Well, I should get going.

Troll-ass game

Option 1: Should I invite a girl to come with me?
Option 2: Should I head out alone?

Option 1 lets us choose from a list of girls we know (except Yumi, who isn't on the class trip) and invite them to go sightseeing. We're going to choose Yuina and get back to surfing with the alien.

Goon: Ooh, just the person I was looking for.
Goon: Himoo-san!
Yuina: Ah, Gunpei-kun. What did you want?
Goon: Yeah. Do you want to come with me today?
Yuina: I was doing research, but I ran out of materials.
Goon: Huh? Research?
Yuina: I can grace you with my presence while I gather more materials.
Goon: What do you mean by materials, anyway...?
Yuina: Do not worry about petty things. We are leaving now.

Fast-forwarding again, to...

Option 1: Let's run from the bear!

Goon: Huff, puff... that was dangerous. Looks like we managed to outrun it.
Yuina: Hmph, why did we need to flee? You just grabbed me and ran.
Goon: Why? Because it was dangerous...!
Yuina: I thought that this would be the perfect time to test out my new weapon in the field!
Goon: New weapon?
Yuina: Ah well. There may be another opportunity for a field test.

Fast-forward again, to...

Yuina: There is no such thing as an unidentified flying object. I will expose it for what it is!
Goon: WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?

This time, we have more health! It takes about two minutes of being Yuina's meat shield before...

...her completed robot fires its laser beam.

The alien flees, and the robot shorts out.

Yuina: It appears there was a problem with my power calculations.

Goon: I wonder what that was?
Yuina: It was nothing special. It was ten thousand light-years too early to challenge me.
Goon: Light-years measure distance.

THANK YOU

Yuina: L...let's get out of here.
Goon: (There's... a chance that we just saved the world.)

It's worth noting that this is the first time in the entire game that Yuina has stuttered.

Holy crap, it's 3 AM and I have work in 5 hours. I'll have to cut this one short and continue on the True Path of Utter Perfection next time!